I’ve always been drawn to memoirs. I find myself better able to understand others when I can try to see things from their point of view. Reading a general text book about history has never been as impactful as reading an individual account of someone who survived that period of history. I guess it’s just how my mind works.

If you’re like me and enjoy learning about other people and their struggles and successes through first-hand accounts, YouTube can be a great resource. Here are a few of the ones I’ve been enjoying a lot lately.

Boogie2988. Ryan has watched Boogie for many years, and he was primarily a gaming channel for a long time. However, he also has done “rambling videos” regularly for a long time, and in those he talks about what is going on in his personal life. He is morbidly obese, so his health problems were often discussed in those videos. I tend t tune-out while Ryan is listening to most people on YouTube, but Boogie’s rambling videos always caught my attention. He was willing to talk so plainly about his struggles with food and other health issues, and he just seems so honest and genuine. I can’t imagine the strength that it takes to put yourself on the internet as an obese person and accept the hate that comes as a result.

Fathering Autism. I’ve went through phases of watching family based vlogs off and on for years, most of them lose my interest after a couple of months. Fathering Autism captured my attention at first because I had never seen a channel that had a theme of autism. I know a couple of kids with autism, but none who are non-verbal like the daughter in this show. I know a couple of kids with autism, but they have much different struggles than Abbie has. The biggest difference perhaps, is that Abbie is non-verbal. I’ve learned a lot about the so-called “lower functioning” end of autism by following this channel and the whole family just seems very authentic and sweet. As a result of following this vlog, I’ve now been able to recognize “stimming behaviors” in people out in public which I had never understood before. I’ve occasionally seen kids or teenagers commenting on their videos, and I love the idea of younger kids being exposed to the realities of autism so they can be more empathetic towards those they might see in public or at school who have similar struggles. Autism is such a common diagnosis these days, I think it’s an awesome thing for all people to be informed about.

Real Stories Documentaries. This channel uploads full-length documentaries, often around 45 minutes to an hour long. In the past few months, this has been my primary source of entertainment in my down time. I’ve probably watched a couple dozen videos from this YouTube channel. Some of the topics of videos that I have watched include prison life, crime, transgender transitions, polyamory, poverty, cults and more. I’ve learned a lot about various struggles that people have, and have gained insight into other peoples perceptions of the world.

Do you enjoy using YouTube for understanding other peoples lives? If so, I’d love to see your channel suggestions!